The present invention relates to a retaining wall such as may be used as a flood containment structure and in particular, is related to a modular block for forming such a retaining wall.
The problem of trying to contain flooding has been addressed in the prior art. Typically, in the case of flooding caused by the overflow of rivers and the like, walls of sand bags are placed in strategic places to either divert or hold back the flood water. In the case of hazardous liquid spills, the fire department usually relies on local material to fill sand bags for containment of the liquid spill.
Unpredictable environmental conditions and development of civilization have led to increase in terrains subject to flooding. High yield cropland, residential and commercial structures, roadways, railroads and virtually all forms of civilian development located adjacent bodies of waters such as rivers, lakes, oceans and the like are susceptible to flooding potentially causing enormous material damage and also potentially causing life-threatening situations.
Some areas particularly prone to flooding are usually at least partially protected by permanent earth dikes or levees. However, in certain circumstances, such dikes or levees may prove to be inadequate and subsequently breached, causing flooding and the above mentioned results.
The development of efficient communication methods as well as weather monitoring techniques has led to an increased number of situations wherein flooding of particular areas may be anticipated with relative accuracy. In such situations, it is typical to attempt to protect such areas by using sand bag barriers or temporary earthen levees or dikes.
In situations wherein permanent levees or dikes are already in place and are being topped by the rising flood waters, wooden planks, sand bags or temporary earth fills are typically used to increase the height of such levees. Although somewhat useful, the use of prior art structures such as sand bags for temporarily providing flood protection has proven to be unsatisfactory.
Indeed, the erection of sand banks and earth filled barriers are labor and equipment intensive. Furthermore, they are time-consuming especially when considering that the time available to provide at least temporary flood protection in the flood prone areas may range from hours to several days. Also, such prior art structures can rapidly become saturated and structurally weakened to the point of failure. Furthermore, they create a problem with respect to their removal after the flood waters have subsided.
There have been proposals in the art to address some of the aforementioned problems. Thus, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,368, there is provided a water permeable bag of coarse absorbing material which is used in place of the sand bags. Being lighter than the sand bags, they are easier to place. However, one can envision practical problems with drying, storage and disposal of the bags.
It has also been proposed in the art to provide a bag filled with water instead of sand. However, typically such devices include many different types of valves, special shapes and the like and as a result, they have not received any degree of acceptance.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,821 teaches a plastic tube which may assume an oval shape when filled with water. The tube is tied in a knot at each end to keep water in. As will be really understood, to tie a knot in a relatively large tube would not necessarily be an effective way of sealing such a device.
A still further proposal is set forward in U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,919 wherein a triangularly shaped member is provided and which is filled with water. However, it would appear that the devices would have to be manufactured in a substantial length and means of interconnecting the devices are not discussed.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved retaining wall formed of a plurality of modular blocks.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a modular block which may be used as a retaining wall and in particular as a flood control barrier which is easily transportable and deployable.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a modular block for use into sorting a retaining wall suitable for use as a flood control barrier wherein the modular block may be easily manufactured through the use of conventional and relatively inexpensive manufacturing techniques and which modular block allows it to be stored using a relatively small storage space.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a modular block suitable for building a retaining wall, the modular block comprising a body portion having first and second opposed ends, the body portion having a hollow portion designed to receive ballast, a first one of the opposed ends having a plurality of tenons extending outwardly therefrom, a second end of the opposed ends having a plurality of mortices formed therein, the arrangement being such that the modular block can be connected to an adjacent modular block at varying angles by means of the mortices and the tenons.
According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a retaining wall formed of a plurality of modular blocks, the improvement wherein each of the modular blocks comprises a body portion having first and second opposed ends, the body portion having a hollow portion with a ballast therein, a first one of the opposed ends having a plurality of tenons extending outwardly therefrom, a second end of the opposed ends having a plurality of mortices formed thereat, the modular blocks being arranged end to end such that a first modular block is connected to an adjacent modular block by interconnection of the tenons with the mortices, the modular wall having varying angles.
The modular block of the present invention has first and second opposed ends, each end carrying a complementary interconnecting structure. The interconnecting structure is such that the modular blocks may be connected at various angles so as to provide maximum flexibility in the design of the retaining wall. Furthermore, the blocks are designed so that they do not necessarily need to be on a planar surfacexe2x80x94i.e. they are capable of being arranged in a step like manner.
In a preferred embodiment, the interconnecting structure is that of a tenon and mortice arrangementxe2x80x94i.e. one of the ends has projecting tenons which are sized to fit within corresponding mortices at an opposite end of an adjacent block. In one particularly preferred form of the modular block, a first end has an overall semispherical projecting portion with a convex outer wall having mortices formed therein while at the other end, there is provided a concave end wall of a generally semispherical configuration with tenons projecting outwardly from the concave end wall. Other similar configurations can be used for interconnecting the end walls.
The modular block may be formed as a single unit by suitable means such as injection molding. Alternatively, the unit may be arranged to have an insert, which insert would generally follow the contour of the modular block configuration. The insert may be formed of a similar or dissimilar material and in one embodiment, may be designed to be resistant to any fluid material used as ballast. The insert could also, for example, add ballast weight. In one embodiment, the insert may be designed to have tapered walls as to be stackable while the outer shell of the modular block will provide for the interlocking arrangement.
Preferably, the outer block includes means for easy transport thereof and to this end, there may be provided suitable handles. As will be appreciated, many different types of handles may be employed including, in the preferred embodiments, recessed handles formed in side walls of the modular block.
The modular block of the present invention is designed to be stackable and to this end, there are provided means for interconnecting the blocks in a vertical arrangement and for securing the blocks in the desired position.
The modular block will have inlet and outlet means for filling the interior thereof with a suitable ballast and which ballast may include any suitable material including known materials such as water and sand.